Inventing ways of plugging/stopping old wine bottles

[burek]

I've posted this elsewhere on the forum but thought that maybe regular users of RRR might be able to help too:

Has anyone got any ideas/tips for stopping bottles? I have some wine bottles which I would like to use to keep cordials in over the coming months but the corks are long gone. I can't find anywhere here that sells just the corks, and in any case I would prefer to use something I may already have around the place. There's no glass recycling here btw so getting rid responsibly is not an option.

I once saw a dry corn kernel (without the corn) wrapped in plastic being used as a cork in Mexico... but don't have any of those handy sadly!

[Clara]

Lucky for us the only time we had this problem we found a slab or cork hanging about the place, so can´t suggest another option.

To buy corks....

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/cat82_1.htm

http://www.art-of-brewing.co.uk/acatalog/intro.html

http://www.brewathome.co.uk/

[legendaryone]

Wilkos sell corks, but you could use what i use and that is cotton wool, when i have a few bottles fermenting this works fine lets the air out and stops insecst and dust getting in. But for long term storage i would use corks.

[Thomzo]

I wonder if you could use wax somehow? Maybe a bit of paper stuffed in the top to prevent the molten wax getting at the liquid and then sealed with wax.

Or how about cooking foil wrapped around the top and then tied tightly with string? Use the string wet and it will shrink as it dries so pulling the foil in tightly.

[Muddypause]

I wonder if you could use wax somehow?

Candles.

[Thomzo]

I wonder if you could use wax somehow?

Candles.

Of course. Wedge a candle into the top and then melt the outside down a bit to make the seal. Best make sure the contents aren't firmenting though otherwise you will have an explosion.

Zoe

[burek]

great ideas there - many thanks

candles - v good idea and easy to source

wet string, maybe with strong plastic instead of foil (expensive)?



isn't improvisation fun?

[catalyst]

cork is a renewable resource. most of portugal is covered with cork forest, but thanks to new plastic corks the economy of it all is struggling. it is illegal to cut a cork oak tree, in portugal.